Since Ali Abdullah Saleh assumed power in Yemen on July 17, 1978, he has appointed his relatives, cousins and close associates in all aspects of state: military, civil and economic.

This corruption, which spread during the reign of Saleh, became a politic approach for all the politicians who worked during his reign or after. There is even an idiom used among people in Yemen: “Who did not practice corruption in the era of Ali Abdullah Saleh, when will he does?”

In a joint venture with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), we reveal sensitive information about properties owned by Yemeni officials or their relatives on the Palm Island in Dubai.

These properties range from US $ 650,000 to US $ 3.8 million, according to information provided by a real estate company in Dubai, which own properties in the same locations and with the same specifications of that properties. Some of the following names owns one property and two properties and some owns more than ten properties.
We tried to communicate with all of those named in this investigation. Some responded and others were silent and indifferent.

1- Tawfiq Saleh Saleh ($15,000,000)

Tawfiq Saleh, the nephew of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, took over the National Tobacco and Sulfur Company (1998-2012). But Tawfiq not only controlled this company, which is one of the largest Yemeni companies with the highest revenue, he founded several companies.

Among these companies is a company called Zoonik Oil Services. Registered in Cyprus with a Jordanian partner. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2002 that the US Department of Justice was investigating the services of an American oil company and suspicions of corruption related to its work in Yemen.

The information say that Tawfiq Saleh’s oil company was involved in these corrupted deals.